Jenson Button heaped praise on Max Verstappen, calling him the most rounded driver in Formula 1, but the 2009 World Champion has his money on Lando Norris beating his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, at the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
Although Norris trails Piastri by 15 points ahead of Round 12 at Silverstone this weekend, the Englishman has the momentum after his excellent victory at the Austrian Grand Prix last Sunday. Fueled by his home crowd he starts as favourite. But what of Verstappen?
Reports are rife of a Mercedes move for the four-time F1 world champion, possibly even for 2026, a constant talking point for over a week now.
Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, Button shared his thought on Verstappen: "My comments about Max, yeah, I feel he's the most rounded F1 driver there has ever been.
"You know, and I know he hasn't won the championships of Lewis. And, you know, I obviously think Lewis is extremely, extremely good and one of the best in the world," Button said.
Verstappen and Red Bull to split?
"There's just something about Max that he can do something with a car that I don't think anyone else can. Just thinking about this moment in time, I feel that Max is the one who can do more with a car than anyone else," ventured Button.
Regarding a move away from Red Bull, Button warned: "That is a tricky one for Max, because he's in a position where he's doing so well with Red Bull. They've given him so much over the years, they've designed this car around him, and he's extremely good at it.
"And he's extremely good at it. Nobody can match him in that car. They're so far off him. I mean him qualifying third or fourth, and them qualifying 18th.
"If he goes to Mercedes, it's a different thing altogether. That car is not going to be designed around him. So is it going to work for him? I don't know. I mean, the best in the world should be able to make that work for him," explained Button.
Verstappen to Mercedes would mean two things: they ditch George Russell or Kimi Antonelli? Button said of the options: "It's a tough one on George, because George is at the top of his game. I think he's been so competitive, when you see what he did against Lewis the last few years, he is World Championship material."
Button: Replacing George with Max seems like a strange move
Button continued: "We still don't know [about Antonelli]. Whereas George is there, he is good, and you need two very competitive drivers with this new era of the sport next year, obviously, lots of regulation changes, car change, engine change.
"To replace George with Max, it just seems like a strange move. So, for me, the two of them would be a better lineup. Could you see that working? I would love to see it," Added Button.
While Verstappen is the 'King' of this current era of Formula 1 drivers, he is increasingly likely to lose his crown to either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. Which one is the question?
Button reckoned: "Lando and Oscar both up there. You know, they're very different personalities. I think Lando can be his own worst enemy. He's unbelievably quick, but if he makes a tiny mistake, I think he thinks about it too much.
"Oscar is very level headed. He just wants to go racing and he wants to drive fast, and he does it very well," said Buton, who when asked who would win the British Grand Prix, replied: "I think Lando."
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player
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